Cosmic America

We've gone through a full cycle of our album reviews, so now it's back to stage one — the "One-album wonder" category. Even though the second album from this band was okay, the first album was a masterpiece, and we're glad to get a chance to review it here. It's The Gilded Palace of Sin by The Flying Burrito Brothers, and it's a sadly overlooked album for a large cross-section of the music listening audience. One of the "Old Testament" albums of the country-rock hybrid that would come to dominate the Southern California sound over the next decade, this album is a slab of genius, the full flowering of a sadly neglected partnership between troubled genius Gram Parsons and the workmanlike Chris Hillman. Country rock? Soul? Balladry? Electrified folk? Nudie suits? All of that and some social commentary to boot on this album.
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Lions represents an interesting turning point in the band's career. Their second "middle lineup" album, this one has a bit more juice than By Your Side, integrating some interesting new songwriting approaches and showing off their Led Zeppelin influences after their touring experiences with Jimmy Page a few years prior. It's not their best album by any means, and it suffers from some of the melodic and lyrical issues that By Your Side has, but it's also a very interesting album that deserves a closer look.

Alex, Galen, and special guest Ron McFall are back to talk about the unreleased music from what was probably the band's most fertile time period --- the mid 1990s. Chris is in Los Angeles, Rich is in Georgia, but the music continues to come unabated, and there's a lot of magical stuff that didn't make official release from the various projects that were underway. We talk in depth about the Sweet Pickle Salad sessions (which only included Chris and Marc Ford) and the remarkable range and depth of those songs. We also take a listen to several songs recorded at various points between 1993 and 1995, including some cuts that were on the aborted "Tall" album as well as some songs that never got quite that far. Unreleased Crowes tracks can be pretty interesting and compelling, so if you're looking for some new ideas or directions on the music, this is a great place to start.

Is this the Crowes' magnum opus? Quite possibly yes. The band was hot after two long tours on the success of Shake Your Money Maker, and back in the recording studio with fresh musical ideas, improved playing techniques, and most importantly, two new members of the band who would steer the ship in an new, more virtuosic direction. Marc Ford on lead guitar and Eddie Harsch on keyboards immediately wove themselves into the Crowes' 70s rock and roll stew, adding incredible textures and leads across a collection of songs that reaches for the same sort of soul-influenced canvas that bands like the Faces, Free, and the mid-period Stones and Allman Brothers painted. The results are stunning, and highlight all of the best aspects of the band.

Our next artist spotlight is The Black Crowes, a band that had one of the bigger roller-coaster rides in recent rock and roll memory. It all started with Shake Your Money Maker, a dynamite set of songs in the classic 70's Stones/Free/Aerosmith mold that emanates energy and youthful vigor. A twin guitar attack, aggressive riffage, a couple of slower gems, and Chuck Leavell on keys help to set the stage for one of the more enduring debut albums in this style.